Outlier
by Phoenix31
Summary: He is an undead, wary of the human filth that pollutes the earth and disgusted by his dependence on them. She is a human urchin, alone and without friends. One night he stumbles across her, and takes matters into his own hands. SK CH 3 up!
1. Variable

AN: Hey all! This fic is dedicated to the best season of the year, Halloween. The pairings are going to be kept secret! (although, it really isn't hard to guess) Hope ya'll enjoy it! And don't worry, I'll finish it before Halloween. This fic is going to take precedence over my other fic...mainly because I wanna get it done before Halloween.

_Variable_

She stared at him. Didn't quite know what to expect. Then again, he didn't really quite know what to expect of her either. He'd never met someone like her before. Oh, he'd seen plenty of humans, met plenty of them, and could honestly say he didn't quite care for them. However, he had never seen one like her. Her purity and innocence swirled about her like a shield from the evils of the world, and she stood there, looking at him with wonder, excitement, and curiosity. But not fear. He had installed fear into many a human's heart, and many not-so-human's hearts, but this little...wisp of a girl stood and looked at him as if he were a freakin' butterfly. It just wasn't right.

He contemplated what he should do. On the one hand, he could leave her in this god-forsaken alleyway. She'd try to warn others of his presence. She'd most likely be labeled insane. Surely she wasn't a threat to him or his kind. Could he take the risk of leaving her? He reached out to her mind with his to read her thoughts, only to find that he couldn't.

He couldn't read her mind.

This had never happened to him before. Water slowly dripped out of a pipe somewhere within the alley as he contemplated what to do. Drip. Drip. Drip. Perhaps she was more of a threat than he had initially thought. Perhaps he should just kill her on the spot.

She gave him that look again. Her eyes, how could a mortal have eyes like that? They were chocolate colored, with little flecks of green and gold and something else that currently escaped his vocabulary shimmering within their depths. He tore his gaze from hers.

He could feel the sun fast approaching the horizon. He had to go home, she could wait another night. It wasn't as if he couldn't find her again. She clearly lived in this alleyway, surrounded by filth and rats. She had naught but a blanket, the clothing on her back, and a ratty book bag that once might have been a sunshine-yellow color. He felt no pity towards her. She was human, and that was that. He could not afford to start feeling sentimental towards lesser beings. He turned to go, only stopping when he heard her voice. It proved to be melodious, like the wind chimes his mother used to place outside their home when he was a boy.

When he was human.

"Where are you going? What is your name?" She gazed evenly at him. The wonder was gone, but the curiosity remained. She took a step forward. He hesitated. Should he tell her his name? To do so could prove to be dangerous. It could create a bond between them. Once she knew his name, she would most likely never forget it. It wasn't exactly a common name here in this day, this month, this year, this era. It would create a connection that would never be severed. He wouldn't allow that. Couldn't allow that. It didn't matter. His mind was made up. His heart beat in what suspiciously felt like a thump. He turned back towards her, trapping her gaze with his.

"My name is Sesshoumaru." With those parting words, he turned to leave, once again stopping when he heard her voice.

"I'm Kagome. Kagome Higurashi." She said something else, but he couldn't hear her.

He was already gone.


	2. Home

He landed on his doorstep with the practiced grace of one whom had done so hundreds of times before. He could hear the ruckus emanating from within the house. His brother's lackeys were inside, as was his brother. He could not tell them about the girl...about Kagome. They would kill her. He wanted to be the one that would extinguish her light. He wanted to watch the purity that flared and the innocence that swirled around her and protect her slowly fade into nothingness. After he figured out why the hell she had that...that effect on him. Why she seemed different from all the other human filth. He opened the door and walked in. Walked past his brother, past the two lackeys. Went to his room and shut the door. Closed his eyes, and faded into oblivion.

"Jesus, what crawled up his ass and died?" A white-haired boy lounged on the couch. His pose was casual, legs splayed, one resting on the glass tabletop. Rather than having human ears, he had dog-ears. They were twin triangles that sat atop his head, flicking this way and that at the slightest suggestion of a sound.

"Perhaps it would be prudent not to trouble Sesshoumaru right now Inuyasha. He is obviously deep in thought, and to bother him now could prove hazardous to one's health." Another boy, who appeared to be no more than 25 years old, spoke this. He sat in the recliner, surrounded by leather. His hair the color of coal, his eyes were violet. He held an easygoing aura around him, and his eyes twinkled every now and then.

"I agree with Miroku. I believe we should just leave well enough alone." The room's only other occupant, a female, spoke up. She could have been beautiful, were it not for the stitches that held her together. For she was what is commonly known as a patchwork person. She was created from the remains of others.

Inuyasha looked at her with a scowl. "Sango, he's my brother. Besides, he couldn't beat me if he tried." Both Sango and Miroku groaned. No matter how many times he was beaten by Sesshoumaru, he refused to believe his brother could conquer him. He just couldn't accept that Sesshoumaru was the stronger of the two.

Sesshoumaru stared at his ceiling with a small scowl. Did they think he was deaf? He snorted in contempt towards his brother. Beat him indeed. For reasons that escaped Sesshoumaru's grasp, Inuyasha still lived under the delusion that he could win against Sesshoumaru in a fight. It was true, there was that one time that Inuyasha had managed to beat Sesshoumaru, but that could hardly be called a fair fight.

Sesshoumaru sighed as he remembered that day.

_He hadn't wanted to be turned; yet he was. Bloodthirsty, he had ravaged the lands until he came upon a small village one cold night. The wind nipped at his flesh, yet he felt it not. It had been months since he had last fed. The need for blood pulsed through his ears, throbbed in his head. He could think of nothing else. Nothing but blood. He staggered into the village, weary and weak. He spotted a young girl who was gathering water from the well in the center of the village. A sinister smirk wove its way through his countenance. He ambled over to her._

_"Oh my goodness, are you alright? Can I help y-" Her question was cut off. His fangs pierced her tender throat in a manner that could only be described as carnivorous. Digging deeper, he felt her jugular vein give. Sweet warm liquid gushed down his throat, and he felt his hunger sated only slightly. When he had depleted her of her vitality, he tossed her body away as if she were a rag doll. Turning, he met the shocked gazes of the other villagers. He glared and lifted his upper lip into a snarl._

_All but one of the villagers jumped back. Inuyasha stood there, glaring defiantly at Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha growled as he unsheathed his sword. Sesshoumaru, still weak from blood loss (despite that he had just fed), glared at Inuyasha. His senses screamed enemy, yet there was something slightly familiar about the dog-eared boy...._

Sesshoumaru was brought out of his musings by the laughter that drifted up through the floorboards. He turned over in his bed, and promptly lost his consciousness to a dreamless sleep.

AN: lol, I know I said that it'd be done by Halloween. Don't kill me, but the plotline has evolved somewhat since I last said that...soo...I dunno when it'll be done. I'll work on it as much as possible though! R&R please!


	3. Meetings

AN: Hey everyone! I was in a very witchy mood the other day, so I started to work on thsi fic some more. So, now this fic has officially lost it's "hiatus" status. Go me. This chapter is a little longer than the other ones (thank goodness, the other ones were so short!). I'm contemplating combineing the first two chapters into one chapter, since they were so short. What do ya'll think? Anyways, enjoy!

_

* * *

_

_LAST TIME:_

_ Sesshoumaru was brought out of his musings by the laughter that drifted up through the floorboards. He turned over in his bed, and promptly lost his consciousness to a dreamless sleep._

* * *

Clutching the blankets tighter to her chest, Kagome sighed. How many years had it been since she had run away? Three? Five? Ten? She couldn't quite remember. Not that she wanted to. Kagome had tried hard not to remember her past, to erase it completely. And she would have succeeded too, had it not been for one thing.

Her conscious.

_ She had had a nightmare. Crying, she opened her eyes. Her mother, brother, and grandfather were all standing outside of her door._

"_Her power is peaking! Kagome, calm down!" Her grandfather's raspy voice filled her ears. She had tried, she really did. For their sake._

_ She couldn't calm down. Every time she tried, she became more and more fearful. The fear controlled her now, and an agony filled wail broke from her mouth. Tears ran in rivulets down her face, and white-hot pain danced down her spine. _

_ Within moments, the modest two-floor house that rested on the corner of 7th and Pickett exploded. Shrapnel flew everywhere. _

_ It was over within a fraction of a second. The once stable home had been reduced to a pile of lumber, siding, and insulation. Debris littered sidewalks five blocks away._

_And in the middle of the rubblehad stood an eight year-old Kagome, still crying, unharmed but for the scar that now adorned her hip._

* * *

He woke promptly at sunset. Like all vampires, Sesshoumaru was keenly tuned into the schedule of the sun and moon. It had been necessary when he had first been turned, a matter of survival. Now it was just another thing that marked him for what he was. A bloodsucking parasite. Hefting himself up out of bed, he walked to the window and opened it. He scowled as he scented the evening's breeze. He would have to inform his brother.

Inuyasha was chopping some carrots as Sesshoumaru entered the kitchen. Without even a 'hello,' Inuyasha picked up a bag containing a thick crimson liquid and threw it at Sesshoumaru. Catching it, Sesshoumaru deposited its contents into a nearby mug and popped it into the microwave. Turning towards his brother, Sesshoumaru spoke the two words that Inuyasha feared above all others.

"Naraku's back."

* * *

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Kagome made a mental note to herself to fix that damn pipe. Just as soon as she could steal a wrench. Staring up at the night sky, Kagome's thoughts turned towards the mysterious stranger who had called himself Sesshoumaru. He had seemed different than all the others who had visited her alleyway. He had seemed as if he hadn't belonged to this world. Kagome could respect that. She even admired it. She wondered if he would visit her alleyway again.

Shivering slightly, she pulled the threadbare covers closer to herself in a desperate attempt to save some warmth from the chilly night air. She was just about to fall asleep when she heard someone scuffle down the alley. Quickly hiding behind a trashcan, she watched the drunken man stagger past her, muttering to himself. Yes, Sesshoumaru was most definitely different than this man.

Breathing a sigh of release as she saw the drunkard walk around the corner, Kagome moved from her hiding place and prepared to fall asleep.

She probably shouldn't have done that.

* * *

Sesshoumaru had decided to return to her alleyway. Even though he had told himself that he shouldn't. He had more pressing matters to attend to, like figuring out why the hell Naraku wasn't dead. Dead dead, not living dead. She was just a human, after all. He held no emotional attachment towards her at all. None whatsoever.

Sesshoumaru tried to remember that as he gazed down at her broken body. It was covered in black and blue bruises, and for a moment he thought that she had been beaten to death. The only assurance he had that this was not the case was the steady rise and fall of her chest. A growl worked its way up his throat and out of his mouth. He watched as she slowly opened her eyes – how had she known he was there? – and rested her gaze upon him. Her lips formed a lopsided smile, and she raised her eyes to his.

"You came back to visit me? I had my suspicions that you would, but I wasn't really sure, seeing as how I don't really know you that well and all. Are you going to make a habit of coming here and seeing me? 'Cuz if you are, I kinda want to know in advance. So I can bathe and stuff." Sesshoumaru just stared at her. How could she prattle on and on about bathing and other such dribbles when she had quite obviously been engaged in what appeared to be a very nasty beating? Sesshoumaru looked her over once, then twice for good measure.

"You're hurt." It was hard to tell who was more surprised at what had come out of his mouth, Sesshoumaru or Kagome. Before he could ponder his reasons for showing concern over a filthy human, Kagome responded.

"Yeah, well, you should have seen the other guy. Don't worry; it's just some bruising. Nothing major. It'll go away with time." Sesshoumaru blinked at Kagome's words. Those bruises had to hurt, and here she was writing them off as a minor inconvenience. Words failed him as he continued to stare at her. Everything within him screamed at him to leave her alone, to just walk away. Logic and reason told him to kill her now; she was naught but a human. No one would miss her. Sesshoumaru began to gather Kagome's belongings.

"Hey! Get off of my stuff! I didn't give you permission to rifle through my things like some sort of stray dog!" Kagome grabbed her bookbag just as Sesshoumaru had grasped it. She gave it a tug, and glared at him defiantly when he didn't let go.

"Let go woman. I'm doing you a favor. You'll be staying with me from now on. Gather your things." As Sesshoumaru gazed into Kagome's eyes, he was surprised to see anger within their depths. "What's wrong now, woman?"

"First of all, I have a name. It's Kagome. Ka-go-me. Kagome. Secondly, I will not be ordered around by anyone, much less a pompous jackass like you who expects me to go and live with him and be his…his…" Sesshoumaru simply quirked an eyebrow towards her.

"His what?"

"His prostitute!" Sesshoumaru nearly choked at that. She thought that he…him and her…that he would make her…. Sesshoumaru felt sick at the very notion of it.

"Look, woman, I have no dishonorable intentions like those you speak of, nor do I need to explain said intentions to you. I will not ask twice." Kagome gave Sesshoumaru a measuring glance; then nodded her head. Gathering what few belongings she had, Kagome stuffed them into her bookbag.

"Ok, I think I'm ready." Kagome smiled shakily as she turned towards Sesshoumaru. But nothing could have prepared her for what he did next. Sesshoumaru grabbed her, and leaped into the air.

Kagome's screams of terror filled the night.

* * *

AN: Love it? Hate it? R&R! 


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